| And a time to every purpose under the heaven: | | | | societal level he notes that a just community is made |
| A time to be born, and a time to die; | | | | up of a number of vital components parts: rulers who |
| A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is | | | | govern, workers who labour, and an army that |
| planted; | | | | functions to protect them both. In the individual he finds |
| A time to kill, and a time to heal; | | | | a similar configuration - the mind that governs the body, |
| A time to break down, a | | | | the limbs that do the work, and the 'themos' (which is |
| Four of the boys at training tonight are preparing | | | | often translated as 'temper' or 'aggression') that plays |
| themselves for their first fight at our forthcoming | | | | a parallel role in protecting the individual. Justice in the |
| Christians vs. Lions promotion, scheduled for only three | | | | Republic consists in having all of the component parts |
| weeks hence. All of these lads are boxers. | | | | (in either individual or society) being present and |
| Three of those four - Joel, Daniel and young Dave - | | | | working together properly. |
| are friends, finishing their last year of school together. | | | | In the wisdom of the ancient Greeks then, the 'themos' |
| They are a great example of how guys from different | | | | is the vital third component in the human constitution, |
| ethnic backgrounds (Australian, Latin American, and | | | | along with the mind and the body. Without the 'themos', |
| Lebanese respectively) can still be the best of mates. | | | | no individual is complete, and at a social level, no |
| The fourth guy, Louis, is an enormous Islander man. I'm | | | | society will ever achieve a true state of justice. |
| not sure whether he's Tongan or from the Cook | | | | It is my opinion that one of the negative legacies of |
| Islands, but he's a gentle giant really. He reminds me of | | | | feminism in Western culture has been an attempt to |
| Mahendar - a regular here at the Youth Centre. | | | | deny the 'themos', which seems to be more strongly |
| They're both big, black and burly, but with gentle hearts. | | | | present in men than in women. This has been for the |
| Louis has a few years on the other boys who were | | | | most understandable of reasons - because of the |
| there tonight. He's a natural in the ring, and plays the | | | | excesses of male violence. But perhaps it's time that |
| role of the older brother very well indeed. | | | | we realised that trying to eliminate 'themos' from |
| These four boys are the cream of our crop in the fight | | | | society altogether is like trying to eliminate spiders and |
| club at the moment. They are all capable pugilists, but | | | | snakes because we find them distasteful. We soon |
| more than that, they are each a good embodiment of | | | | discover that the created order needs all of its |
| what our club is on about - courage, integrity, | | | | creatures - even those that some of us find ugly - if it |
| self-discipline and teamwork. This isn't to say that none | | | | is to function properly. |
| of them have ever been troublemakers. Indeed, I've | | | | My experience with a vast number of men is that they |
| got a court appearance coming up with one of the | | | | tend to be either functioning as doormats to their |
| boys, scheduled for shortly after his fight, and he's on | | | | wives and girlfriends, or they're beating up on them. |
| quite serious charges. Even so, I've seen nothing but | | | | This is a reflection of the same crisis in dealing with the |
| positive growth since he joined the club, and I'm hoping | | | | 'themos'. When we attempt to repress the themos', it |
| for positive results both in his fight and in his court | | | | often spurts out in the most horrible and destructive of |
| case.What is it that makes fight training such a | | | | forms. When we successfully repress it, we |
| powerful tool in the molding of young lives? There was | | | | emasculate our men, so that they're no longer able to |
| a time when I thought of fighting as just another form | | | | stand up for anything. Ironically, of course, such modern |
| of sport. I have come to believe though that fight | | | | day men are not only unable to offer any strength to |
| training taps into something deep in the male psyche, in | | | | society. They're no longer even attractive to the |
| a way that no other sport does. | | | | women they sought to please. |
| When I used to talk to my old girls in the church about | | | | The only constructive alternative is for us to reharness |
| the problems we had with our young people, they | | | | the 'themos' and channel it creatively. We need to get |
| often used to say 'what we need is another war'. I | | | | in touch with that distinctive male energy - recognise it, |
| always thought that that was a terrible thing to say - | | | | affirm it, and then learn to bring it under control so that |
| that a war was the last thing that anybody wanted. | | | | it can be put to good use. Perhaps when we are able |
| And of course the girls didn't really want a war. They | | | | to do this, then we will see this country produce |
| had just experienced the benefit of being part of a | | | | leaders of the calibre of Martin Luther King Jr., Mother |
| community that had learnt to pull together through | | | | Theresa, or Mahatma Ghandi - strong people of |
| difficult times. And they had seen the positive effect | | | | principle who stand up powerfully for what they |
| that soldiering could have on the lives of young men. | | | | believe in. As it is, our leaders always seem to come |
| I believe that men were made to fight. It's part of our | | | | across as being either 'wooses' or criminals or both. |
| genetic makeup. We may have managed to emerge | | | | God knows we need some real men in this country |
| from the jungle, but there's still a bit of the jungle in | | | | who know what it means to love their women, to be |
| each of us, and pugilistic activity keys right in to those | | | | fathers to their children, and to serve God and their |
| ancient impulses - releasing the wild man within. | | | | community with their strength! |
| This theory isn't original to me of course. It's part of the | | | | Fight training, I do believe, is a means to getting at that |
| fabric of the Bible - there behind every great | | | | 'themos' and learning to bring it under control. When |
| warrior-king who showed himself to be a 'mighty man | | | | done in the right way, fight training can help a young |
| of God' in battle, and behind Jacob, who went toe to | | | | person to discover who they are and can help them |
| toe with God Himself and yet lived to talk about it | | | | to bring their futures into focus. They can then come |
| (Genesis 32)! These were men who knew how to | | | | to see their role as warriors in this society who will |
| fight and pray and bleed and serve. | | | | stand up and use their energy to build a better |
| For a more philosophical exposition on the significance | | | | community and to fight for things worth fighting |
| of fighting, we need look no further than Plato's | | | | for.What about these boys who I watched training with |
| Republic. | | | | me tonight? Will they go on to become 'mighty men of |
| For those who haven't read it, in the Republic Socrates | | | | God'? I don't know. But they're on the right track, and |
| explores the concept of justice through examining both | | | | they're further ahead now than when they first started |
| the just society and the just individual, and then he | | | | their training. |
| goes on to delineate their common elements. On the | | | | |